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Wednesday, August 16, 2017

Welcome to my stop on the Virtual Tour, presented byFrance Book Tours, forThat Spring in Paris by Ciji
Ware. Please leave a comment or question for Ciji to let her know you
stopped by. You may enter her tour wide giveaway below. You may
follow all of the stops on her tour by clicking on the banner above. Good
Luck!

Ciji,
what drew you to write about Paris for the first time in your work, given that
your previous novels tend to be set in America and the United Kingdom?

My
husband and I have been visiting the French Alps nearly every year of our “marriage
of long duration” due to a close family association with France in general, and
the Alpine region called the Haute-Savoie
in particular. For a couple of
generations, now, the Cook family has supported a modest foundation dedicated
to bringing 10 American college students each year to a village of 500 called
Talloires on Lake Annecy to spend their summer learning French and gaining a
cultural understanding of America’s first ally.

When
we head from our home in San Francisco to France, there is usually a stopover
in Paris (who can resist?). On a trip a
few years ago, I noted that former industrial barges on the River Seine had
been converted to very appealing “condos-on-the-water”—some of which are
available through rental agencies like Airbnb.
For some reason the thought popped into my head, “What a perfect place
to hide out if a person didn’t want to be found…” (The ‘What Ifs” are the basis
for most plotting by people in my profession!)

In
2015, the Muslim extremist terrorist attack on Charlie Hebdo, the cartoon magazine, was followed by the horrible
mass attacks in the cafes and concert hall in November. Soon, an idea started percolating in my mind about
two Americans who both have friends affected—and meet in the aftermath. That’s
when I decided I could have the hero living on a barge because he didn’t want to
be found (for a very good reason), and the heroine flying in from San Francisco,
desperate to learn if her best friend was alive or dead and, well, That Spring in Paris was the result!.

But
a funny thing happened on the way to the research: The very week in June, 2016, I leased a barge
in Paris was the occasion of a fifty year flood
with the waters rising on the Seine twenty-three
feet, flooding the Louvre Museum and Metro stations! After five days helping our host battle the
chance the barge could be ripped from its moorings and smash into the nearest
bridge, the water finally began to recede—but I had a fabulous plot twist!As
my late adored writer-father once said to me:
“To anyone else, a poke-in-the-eye is just a poke-in-the-eye.

To a novelist, a poke-in-the-eye is grist for the writer’s mill.”I
hope you find That Spring in Paris—Book
4 in my Four Seasons Quartet (That Summer in Cornwall; That Autumn in Edinburgh; That Winter in Venice)-- full of drama,
excitement, beautiful (and terrifying) scenery, and a love story you won’t soon
forget.

Two Americans literally collide at the entrance to a Paris hospital,
each desperately searching for friends felled in the same unspeakable tragedy.

Patrick Finley Deschanel, an expatriate former U.S. Air Force
pilot, quit the military after a career flying helicopter rescue missions in
the Middle East. Now resident on a classic barge moored on the Seine, Finn is a
man with both physical battle scars and psychic wounds that overshadow his
day-to-day encounters at every turn.

Juliet Thayer is a fledgling landscape painter who seeks escape
from a tyrannical older brother and her job at his violent video war games
company in San Francisco. Her emergency trip to Paris also raises doubts as to
her impending engagement to a colleague where she serves as packaging design
director and “Chief Branding Officer” of GatherGames, a highly speculative
enterprise in which her parents are heavily invested.

As Finn and Juliet form a tenuous attachment in the aftermath of
the terrorist attacks that traumatized the French capital November 13, 2015,
they wonder if the “City of Light” can provide a path out of the darkness for
two emotional exiles who fear–along with the world at large—that their universe
has descended into a permanent state of chaos and that the renewal of spring
might never come.

New
York Times bestselling novelist and Emmy-award winning news producer Ciji
Ware displays her formidable skill at weaving fact and fiction–delivering a
gripping story about the discovery of love and regained serenity in the wake of
horrifying events.

Ciji Ware, a graduate of Harvard University
in History, is a New York Times
& USA Today bestselling
author of historical and contemporary fiction, and two works of nonfiction.

An Emmy-award winning former radio and TV broadcaster for 23 years
in Los Angeles, her numerous writing accolades include a Dorothy Parker Award
of excellence, and being short-listed for the Willa [Cather] Literary Award.
Her family circle includes a husband of many decades, a grown son and
daughter-in-law, and now two grandsons under four, along with a Cavalier King
Charles Spaniel named Cholly knickerbocker.

Tweet
about the giveaway everyday of the Tour (this will give you 5 extra
entries each time!)

Follow
the directions on the entry-form

This
is a Global giveaway - open to all

2
winners

A book set in
both Paris and San Francisco,That Sprig in
Paris, is both a love story and a treatise on modern
international society. The fourth book
inCiji
Ware’sFour Seasons Quartet,
this is a book which can be read and enjoyed on its own. If you like
contemporary romance, women’s fiction, tortured heroes and colorful
descriptions of cities and their gourmet food, this is a book (and series) you
will want to add to your reading list.

Ms. Waredoes a wonderful
job introducing her primary characters right from the start. I quickly connected with Patrick Finley
Deschanel, an American ex-soldier, whose family has spent the last 200 years or
so fighting in its adopted country’s army (Patrick’s family was originally from
France but came to the U.S. with LaFayette during the American Revolution).
Suffering from PTSD after his years in service, Patrick has settled into a
barge condo in Paris and spends his time cooking, reading and visiting his
elderly aunt, the former editor for Paris Vogue. Partrick is easy to like and his PTSD is
being treated. When terrorists attack
several locations in Paris, Patrick finds himself drawn into the events
surrounding him.

Ms. Warealso does a good
job introducing Juliet Thayer, the female lead character, whose friend is
injured in the terrorist attack, bringing Juliet from San Francisco to
Paris. As Juliet deals with her friend’s
situation, she finds herself drawn to Patrick.
A woman caught in a life she doesn’t really want, Juliet finds herself
questioning her life choices and being growing closer to Patrick. Though she’s not sure how or if she can break
off her current obligations, especially the ones tied to her family.

The secondary
characters are colorful, the city of Paris and its cuisine shine inMs.
Ware’swriting and even though I fear overseas travel at the current
time, I found myself perusing several websites for pictures of locationsMs.
Waredescribed.Ms.
Ware’svoice as an author is well established, enjoyable to follow and
I found myself completely immersed in her tale.

Will Patrick and
Juliet figure out a way to be together and let go of the past? Will Juliet have
the strength to be in a relationship with someone suffering from PTSD? Will
Paris, the City of Love, be able to bring these two people together forever? You’ll
have to read That Spring in Paristo find out.
I really enjoyed it and I’ll be grabbing the rest of the books in this
series (I also have quite a few of Ms. Ware’s novels on my Kindle set
in the U.S. I need to read).

My Overall
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Crowns

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Ms. Ware as a part of this book tour. The review is my opinion, and my opinion alone of the reading material provided.

Since I have read every book that you have written and loved them all. I am looking forward to this one as well. I also enjoyed the tours you have taken your readers and fans on as you research your novels. The Paris trip was very exciting but I did feel better when you were no longer on the barge. I live near the coast of South Fl. and understand the power of water. Thank you also for your Facebook page where we can visit and admire the beautiful scenes of San Francisco Bay.

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